They flew in from all across the globe – the United States, the United Kingdom and India. On Sept. 9, when the cast and crew of “Midnight’s Children” walked the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival, it did not seem like a premiere, but a reunion of sorts.
According to The Toronto Star, more than 15 primary cast members came together for festivities throughout the weekend leading up to the Sept. 9 screening. At the head was Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, dressed in a green sari, with Salman Rushdie, author of the book on which the film is based and also of the film’s screenplay, dressed in a white sherwani. Adding sizzle to the red carpet were Bollywood actress Seema Biswas, who flew in from India, as did Shahana Goswami, Dolly Ahluwalia and Shikha Talsania; Toronto-based actress and playwright Anita Majumdar; and U.S.-based actress Sarita Choudhury. Joining them were Indian-American actor Samrat Chakraborty, Indian actors Ronit Roy, Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, Siddharth and British-Indian actor Satya Bhabha and the Toronto-based Zaib Shaikh.
Canadian lawmaker Justin Trudeau was among the many people who saw the film at the festival Sept. 9. He posed on the TIFF red carpet looking cool and fashionable in traditional Indian clothing, local news reports said.
The warmth and applause the cast and crew garnered on the red carpet was testimony of the years it took for the award-winning literary classic to transition into a film. “Midnight’s Children,” long described as "un-filmable,” was touted as one of the festival’s most anticipated titles.
The film offers an allegorical look at the birth of modern India -- through independence and partition – blending fantastical, magical elements with historical events. Mehta took up the challenge of adapting the tale about four years ago and has been collaborating with Rushdie, who offered her the film rights for $1 to help kick-start the production.
"We started talking about, 'Let's work together,' " Mehta told CBC News. "[Rushdie] said, 'Which book do you really want to do?' I don't know where this came from but I just said 'Midnight's Children' … and he said, 'Done.' "
Their ability to collaborate "had a lot to do with coming from the same kind of a background in India, being of practically the same generation," Mehta told the news channel. "For me, it's my first and perhaps final gesture of making peace with my motherland. I love India and today, largely because of the film, I feel I can look at it objectively without feeling I have lost anything.”
Rushdie not only wrote the screenplay for the film, but also has a major presence in the film as the off-screen narrator. According to CBC news, Rushdie was originally going to have an on-screen role, playing a fortune-teller, but eventually he and Mehta both decided that character should be eliminated.
Like the novel, the film follows the lives children born at midnight on Aug. 15, 1947, the moment India gained independence. The children — who discover they have mysterious powers — become intertwined with one another and their fates also become linked to that of the country.
Filmed in 64 locations in Sri Lanka, under a secret name, the film experienced a brief shutdown when the Iranian government got word that a film based on Rushdie’s work was being filmed in the country and wanted it stopped. But despite the hoopla, the film could garner only scattered applause and a couple of stars on the rating charts of various critics.
While reviews have been mixed, Rushdie is quite content with the finished product. In an interview with Los Angeles Times on the sidelines of the festival, Rushdie recalled the day he went to Toronto to see the final cut with Mehta and her editor, Colin Monie. “I was actually so moved that I was close to tears. I had a lump in my throat. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was get up and hug them both,” he told the paper.
Although distribution rights have been sold in about 40 countries, there is a strong possibility that the film will not be shown in Indian theaters. According to the Hindustan Times, “Rushdie’s scathing indictment of the Emergency and Indira Gandhi in the novel is reflected in the film as well — and this may have been why it was unpalatable for Indian distributors.” In the film, a thinly-disguised Gandhi is played by New York-based actress Sarita Choudhury.
Another thing that binds both Mehta and Rushdie, apart from their heritage is their tryst with controversies.
Oscar-nominated Mehta's film shootings in India have been the subject of violent protests by religious fundamentalists for broaching topics such as homosexuality (“Fire”), interfaith romance (“Earth”) and the plight of widows (“Water”).
Rushdie was sued for defamation for “Midnight’s Children” by Gandhi because of the book’s negative portrayal of her; his 1988 book, “The Satanic Verses,” which earned him a fatwa and forced him to go into hiding, still is banned in India; and his scheduled appearance at the Jaipur Literary Festival in January this year was cancelled after protests from Muslim groups. Speculation is that such controversy may be the reason for Indian distributors' reluctance to buy the rights to the film.
Talking about "Midnight's Children" at the festival, Mehta said, “Salman has often said that the book was his love letter to India. I think the film reflects that love.
“What a pity if insecure politicians deprive the people of India to make up their own minds about what the film means, or does not mean, to them.”
Also spotted at the Toronto festival were Bollywood actor Abhay Deol and director Dibakar Banerjee, who were promoting their film “Shanghai,” which was screened along with nine other films from Mumbai, including “Gangs Of Wasseypur," “Ishaqzaade” and “Peddlers.”
Among other top picks at the festival are Meera Nair's “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” and Gauri Shinde's “English Vinglish,” which marks the silver screen comeback of Sridevi and the Bollywood debut of New York-based actress Neelu Sodhi.
The 11-day festival will also premiere National Award-winning Kannada filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli's “The Tortoise, An Incarnation” in the Contemporary World Cinema section.
